ABSTRACT
Japan presents the most serious food problems of any country in Asia. There has never been much precise information about food production in China, but the fact that it has continued for some four thousand years without apparent deterioration of the land has always had a fascination for Western people. Difficulty arises at the outset from the circumstances that the name “China” has had several different meanings. The main islands are so rugged and mountainous that the agricultural land is little more than one-sixth of the whole area—some 1212 million acres only—and it has stood at about this figure for a long time. Indonesia comprises four large and a number of small islands: Java is by far the most important. Java has hitherto had no food problems comparable with those of Japan or India. The experimental stations at Pasoeroean and Buitenzorg, formerly known throughout the world for their distinguished investigations, have ceased to function.
